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The Browns' defense wasn't the problem in the 41-20 loss to the Bengals, as odd as that may sound if you only look at the score. He is a telling stat: the Browns held Cincinnati to just 1-of-14 on third downs. The snap count distributions for the Browns' defenders against the Bengals are listed below. [Week 11 offensive snap counts for Cleveland can be found here]
| Defensive Line |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Desmond Bryant | Phil Taylor | Ahtyba Rubin | John Hughes | Billy Winn | Armonty Bryant |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| 61% 38/62 plays |
61% 38/62 plays |
60% 37/62 plays |
37% 23/62 plays |
31% 19/62 plays |
15% 9/62 plays |
Phil Taylor: 2 assists (2 combined).
Ahtyba Rubin: 1 tackle, 3 assists (4 combined).
Desmond Bryant: 1 assist (1 combined).
John Hughes: 5 assists (5 combined). 1 pass defended.
Armonty Bryant: 1 tackle (1 combined). 1 tackle for loss.
Billy Winn: 1 tackle (1 combined).
Thoughts: The stats aren't going to be flashy for most of the defensive players in this one. The reps got back to what we are more used to, with DE Armonty Bryant on the lower end of things. NT Phil Taylor summed up his thoughts after the game with this:
#Browns NT Taylor on loss: "Frustrating just knowing that u dominated a team. They literally couldn’t piss a drop & u still get blown out."
— Nate Ulrich (@NateUlrichABJ) November 17, 2013
| Inside Linebacker |
||
|---|---|---|
| D'Qwell Jackson | Tank Carder | Craig Robertson |
 |
 |
 |
| 100% 62/62 plays |
61% 38/62 plays |
37% 23/62 plays |
D'Qwell Jackson: 1 tackle, 8 assists (9 combined).
Tank Carder: 2 tackles, 5 assists (7 combined).
Craig Robertson: 1 tackle, 2 assists (3 combined).
Thoughts: LB Craig Robertson suffered a knee sprain and had to leave the game; he is getting an MRI on that. Taking his place was special teamer Tank Carder; Cleveland is very thin at the position, so hopefully Robertson's fine (although I have been curious how someone else would do in his place...).
| Outside Linebacker |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Kruger | Jabaal Sheard | Barkevious Mingo | Eric Martin | Paul Hazel |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| 68% 42/62 plays |
63% 39/62 plays |
61% 38/62 plays |
11% 7/62 plays |
6% 4/62 plays |
Paul Kruger: 2 assists (2 combined).
Barkevious Mingo: 1 tackle, 1 assist (2 combined).
Jabaal Sheard: 2 tackles, 1 assist (3 combined). 1 quarterback hit.
Paul Hazel: No stats registered.
Eric Martin: No stats registered.
Thoughts: The Browns ended up working in OLB Barkevious Mingo as much as the starters. I know Jabaal Sheard got pressure a couple of times. Again, with how much the Bengals were going three-and-out themselves, our defenders were "quietly" getting the job done.
| Cornerback |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Haden | Buster Skrine | Chris Owens | Leon McFadden |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| 98% 61/62 plays |
98% 61/62 plays |
29% 18/62 plays |
3% 2/62 plays |
Joe Haden: 2 assists (2 combined). 2 interceptions, 2 passes defended, 1 touchdown.
Buster Skrine: 2 tackles, 3 assists (5 combined). 1 pass defended.
Chris Owens: 2 tackles (2 combined).
Leon McFadden: No stats registered.
Thoughts: The low amount of reps for CB Chris Owens indicates just how little we played nickel defense in this game, compared to usual. CB Joe Haden had an outstanding game, picking off QB Andy Dalton on back-to-back passes, one of which was run back for a touchdown in the first quarter. Dalton stayed away from Haden the rest of the game, meaning Haden pitched a shutout.
| Safety |
|
|---|---|
| T.J. Ward | Tashaun Gipson |
 |
 |
| 100% 62/62 plays |
98% 61/62 plays |
T.J. Ward: 2 tackles, 2 assists (4 combined).
Tashaun Gipson: 4 tackles, 1 assist (5 combined).
Thoughts: It sounded like S Tashaun Gipson or somebody else might have been responsible for TE Jermaine Gresham on the Bengals' first touchdown of the game; I'll have to see when I look at the film.